September 11, 2002.09.11.02. - jerkey [sterling][north jersey]
(sterling black)
*thwap, thwap, thwap, thwap... With this year's Doc Martens strapped tightly to his feet, the boy makes his way down the road, hands in the pockets of his once-trendy-now-grimy american eagle cargo shorts. Although his demeanor is cool, like any tough-stuff punk his age, his eyes betray the nervousness under the surface... These streets aren't his home, he's not comfortable here, he's not comfortable not being comfortable. It's a change, one he's not getting used to well.He stops now at a street corner, and leans against the light pole there, hands digging in his pockets for something... The way his gray eyes keep straying to the little food store down the way, it's probably money he's looking for. With a sigh, his thin shoulders shrug and he pulls the wallet out of his back pocket. Unlike the less-than-clean clothes he wears, this black leather device is in immaculate condition, it even cracks when he opens it. Fingering through the contents, he finally settles on something and halfway removes something resembling a credit card before shoving it back in and shaking his head, the leather square sliding back into his pocket.
The boy frowns softly to himself and runs a well-tanned hand through his short blond hair and pushes himself off the street lamp, hands finding their way angrily back into his pocket as he continues on his way...
Wait a minute... The boy can't be more than maybe 15, what's he doing with a credit card?*
(james)
now, there's those that are obviously uncomfortable walking around, along, on a strange street in the middle of a strange nightlike our young credit card weilding friend here
and then there are those that obviously come from the other side of the tracks, way across the tracks, so far across the tracks it isn't even the same state anymore (well, it's true) - but it is these people, these folks, that are more than at home just about anywhere - and there's one of them now
the tattered tails of the longcoat dance around ankles of second-hand Cochrans, pathwork tophat perched at a right jaunty angle over light brown dreads, rebar drumsticks poking from the Alice pack like straws from a wicked martini, hands running the routine of finding which pocket the earned change has been shoved into, standing right outside that foodmart
yes, that one.
(sterling)
*thwap, thwap, plop, shuffle, thwap...So preoccupied with watching the building up ahead, he stumbles over the street corner... Whoops... Gotta check if anyone saw him... No? Hope not... Good...
As he gets a little closer to the little food joint, he finally makes the connection that this bum's in his way... Hell... He'll probably want money or something. Eh, don't matter, the boy ain't sharing.
Unhooking the UNC Tarheels hat from his beltloop, he flops it on his head and slows down a bit, trying to avoid the older man's gaze.
Docs, American Eagle, Tarheels... Wait, yep, there it is, Abercrombie & Fitch all over the front of his shirt....
Ducking his way around the other guy, he reaches for the door, praying there's still a little time left before closing*
(james)
now, if the stumbleshitstepsafe didn't get his attention, the skittershuffled around him did, brown eyes bouncing up to watch the boy weave around and head into the store - and not one to waste, before the door closes the older man is walking in right behind him and starts alloting the 15 minutes left before conveniece closes to browse the shelves and pick up what he can for supplies, glancing at the kiddocs..... american eagle.... tarheels......abercrombie...... and filthy
something just doesn't ring a big ol' bell with that, no homeless kid has that fashion sense or luck, not even a Gnawer - something's up
but there isn't much more than silence, save the occasional drop of an item into the basket, and the more than obvservant yet nonchalant watch of this strange boy
(sterling)
*well, apparently the horrible attempt at stealth seems to have satisfied the boy, he doesn't even give the other man a second thought, even though the guy walks in right behind him.The other news? By the way he shops, he's deffinately not a homeless kid... He passes right by the generic sodas and stuff and heads right over to the damn-near-two-dollars-a-bottle snapple elements. Opening the cooler door, he quickly grabs one... Fire... and lets the door shut behind him, walking down the isles until he locates the beef jerky... Yea... There's the good stuff. He smiles a bit to himself as he grabs the six dollar bag and a little plastic package of peanuts to go with it...
Feeling pretty content with himself, the boy pulls out his wallet again and makes his way up to the counter where the attendant gives him quite posibly the dirtiest look on earth. It doesn't phase the kid as he just puts the stuff on the counter and waits for the guy to ring him up...
Beep, beep, beep
The total's $11.87...
Pulling out the plastic from his wallet, he hands it over to the guy... Debit... And waits.
Buzz... Beep... beep
Apparently there's only enough left for the drink, or so says the man behind the counter, although it comes out more like 'y'ain got it kid, dis is all ya get, here's da receipt, now go on'
Looking totally emberrassed and a little more than angry, the kid frowns and snags his card back from the big guy*
"What the fuck do you mean? There's plenty of shit on that card... I went to the atm yesterday and it said there was fourty bucks on there, not you ring this shit up again old man..."
*quite the mouth on that boy... you'd think his parents woulda taught him better*
(james)
quite the taste, and quite the mouth
indeeda brow lifts beneath the not quite so straight brim of the tophat, falling into line and catching the little performance, basket resting between hip and counter, within it far more food than the boy picked up, and the vagrant certaintly couldn't have more money than the youngster, could he, an almost..... apologetic.... look to the clerk
you'd think parents would teach one better
you'd thinkbut some of us know better, don't we
(sterling)
*Nothing... All the boy gets is threatened with a phone call to the police... No food, just a drink... Well, FINE!Flipping the man off, he grabs the drink off the counter and throws the receipt on the ground, storming his way out the entrance door and throwing it shut behind him...
Wow...
Outside, he kicks at a trash bin bolted to the sidewalk next to the entrance and wanders down the road just a bit before he pulls up a seat on the street corner and gets to opening the snapple and mumbling to himself about 'dirty welfare freaks workin in joints like that'*
(james)
there's a bit of a smile hidden behind a scratched nose, chuckling at youth's storm back onto the streets, and an idle exchange of words about the youngun's these days before his own is paid for, the bag collected and he exits with far less pyrotechnics and drama back onto the streetthere's a bench, between the seething kid and the front of the store, and that's what he heads to, skirting the trashbin vomiting its contents onto the sidewalk, and settling the Alice pack down, before beginning to sort and pack what he's bought - several cans of food, a candy bar or two, some drinks......
.... and a bag of jerky - the not quite six bucks a pop kind
still occasionally watching the kid and the veritable steam rising from his ears and into the night sky
boy that's a lot of rage pent up, now isn't it
(sterling)
*he just sits there, brooding, the black cloud practically hanging over his head... BLAM, lightning crashes as he hauls back and pitches the cap from the bottle out into the road, clipping the tire of some passing car - luckily not hard enough to catch the attention of the driver.The card sits next to him on the curb, and he doesn't even hardly look at it, kinda like he just dropped it there when he sat down*
"So much for dinner... That's bullshit..."
*with a heavy sigh, some of the anger seems to roll off his shoulders and he settles down to drink his snapple, paying absolutely no attention to Mr. Tophat back there, yea, the guy who's been following him or something.
Maybe he'll go away...*
(james)
just about everything gets neatly packed, except for the jerkey, of course, that's one of the last things picked up after Alice is shouldered and Mr. Tophat begins once again on his way"Word of advice GAP kid....."
an absent wave like he's speaking to air, a few thoughtful steps chewing on a piece of jerkey
"..... leave the card there and they'll find you. Course..... the way you act, I'd give Them about three more days before they find you.... and eat you..... and maybe they'll leave the carcass to bury next to your rich parents."
madness, he must be talking sheer madness, just another bum on the street, some crazy boozing drug manipulated experimented on Vietnam vet that seems, well, like he may have been born several years after the war but these vagrants are all the same, they don't know anything, they're crazy man cray-zee and couldn't seriously be talking about real monsters that would come and suck one's brains out in the middle of the night
no, Mr. Tophat seems entirely to aware of himself and his surroundings to be raving, and that advice was rationally calm
he quite knows what he's talking about
but only takes another bite of jerkey and keeps walking down the street
if the kid wants to know, he'll follow(sterling)
*Gah! Jerky! Asshole! The boy spots the stuff as he looks over his shoulder at Mr. Tophat... GAP kid? What a prick... He's just out here to make fun of him...Wait a minute... Who the hell are they?
The anger seems to wipe from his face for just a moment as he listens to the crazy bum talk... Then... Then he gets mad again, hopping up, grabbing the card, and storming a few steps after the freak... His eyes are ablaze now, and his fists clenched at his sides... Not at all an imposing site, in fact, he may be even younger than the man thought... No facial hair to speak of. It's pretty easy to notice, considering his big mouth is the most obvious part of him*
"Hey man, what the fuck do you know about my parents, huh? Don't talk about stuff you don't know about... Besides, there's nobody coming after me, or else I wouldn't be here right now, would I?"
(james)
and that's his cueas the boy gets his game and jumps up the man stays calm, up until the storm brings the kid within arms reach and a fist snaps out to wrap in Abercrombie's collar, dragging the kid - who's surely going to holler now - into an alley
Mr. Tophat is a lot stronger than he looks
kid propped - okay slightly slammed - against a wall and those eyes, crackling with an energy that seems so otherwordly, glare into whatever fires could possibly be burning deep inside that boy
"Hmmmm..... lets see here. Wallet still so new it creaks and containing cards with a bank account that should still have cash in it but doesn't..... something that can be considered fashion sense, matched, slightly dirty around the edges but overall still in good shape, no major rips, tears, stains or blood..... haircut still in order and" a pause, and a deeeeep, thoughtful, inhale "Soap!"
fist unwraps, effectively dropping the kid, brow lifting as he takes a step back fueled by soft chuckle
"I'd bet money something terribly uncomfortable happened not more than a day or two, three at the most, ago. Yes? Something you don't want to go home because of. Something you can't go home because of. How are the folks, GAP kid."
(sterling)
*as he's dragged into the alley, it's amazing how quiet he stays... Admittedly he makes one failed attempt to kick the other man in the junk, but no such luck, his legs just aren't at the right angle... Damnit!Those eyes... Those terrible eyes of the bum... But, the glare is returned with one just as fierce, the firey passion of youth mixed with a terrible anger from deep within... His gaze could practically burn someone.
He grunts slightly as he's dropped to the ground, the concrete of the alley hard against the yeilding flesh of his body...
Rubbing the back of his head, he stares up at the dirty man with that baleful look in his eyes, a snarl forming on his lips...*
"Yea, so what... I've got dirty clothes, big fuckin' deal... You never seen a dirty kid before?
And, you leave my parents out of this, okay? That's none of your damn business, so just shut up...
*he makes as if he's going to rise, but he puts his hand in his other back pocket, not standing up, but trying to get his bearings in order, totally not used to being thrown around*
(james)
a shoulder hits the other alley wall in comfortable lean with the pack still on, returning to the slow consumption of the jerkey in another thoughtful moment of chewing"How far off the mark am I? Honestly."
another chuckle - he's actually a bit cleaner than the kid is, save his clothes - and eyeing the boy up and down
"There are dirty kids who've grown up on the streets. And there are dirty kids that have no idea the world they've just stepped into. You, my boy, are one of the latter. It's damn obvious. The cops aren't the only things that'll be lookin' for ya. There are bigger, meaner and much nastier things that will be coming after you. They'll do things to you which will make you wish I mugged and killed you tonight. But you're right..... what business is it of mine?"
so up from the wall we go, straightening, lapels grabbed to help adjust Alice on his back, pausing on a second thought
"Oh.... and watch out for the fleas, kid, once they get under your coat it's murder...."
a wink, a smile at a private joke, and the dreadlocked carnival man turns to go
(sterling)
*he just sits there, listening to the man, still angry, but... listening... How the hell does this guy know so much and so little at the same time?He... He can't tell the guy anything, he just freakin' met him... Wait... He didn't even meet him, he just kinda got roughed up by him...
He just sits there now, sitting back against the wall and staring across the way at the opposite wall.
Nothing, nothing comes out of the smart-ass' mouth, nothing at all, he just sits there, staring, not moving as memories come back to him... Things he doesn't want to remember... A huge sigh wracks his body and he turns away from the other man, not wanting to make eye contact again*
(james)
there's silence but for the sigh and a few cadenced Cochran steps, then the man half-turns"Ever feel like figuring out what the hell happened that night, GAP kid, look me up."
the resealed bag of jerkey sailing through the air to bounce of the wall and skitters to a stop near those shineyscuffed docs, then the bootsteps are all that signals Mr. Tophat's departure from the alley
(sterling)
*he doesn't seem to hear the man talking to him, he's kinds lost in his own world, but, when the bag stops next to his foot, he does kinda glance over at it, although he doesn't look back down the alley... Again, no eye contact, not now... But, he does reach out and take tha bag of jerky, tearing into it quickly to grab out a piece and wolf it down.He waits now, quietly, in the alley, for the man to leave... But, he'll probably stay the night here anyway - it's as good a place as any*
Posted by james at September 11, 2002 12:00 AM
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